Large Errors in the Dosing of Medications for Children

Abstract

Dosing errors are among the most common types of medication errors.^1-3 Errors by a factor of 10 (the administration of a dose 10 times or 1/10 as high as appropriate) are of particular concern.⁴ There is a greater chance that an infant or a young child will receive such a dose of medication than that an adult will, because even a dose 10 times as high as the appropriate pediatric dose may represent an unsuspiciously small volume of stock solution.